There is known a hybrid vehicle provided with an engine, a first electric motor connected to the engine, a second electric motor connected to wheels, and an electric-energy storage device for supplying an electric energy to the above-indicated first and second electric motors. For such a hybrid vehicle, there has been proposed a control technique for changing output characteristics of a vehicle drive force corresponding to an operation amount of an accelerator pedal, depending upon a running state of the hybrid vehicle. Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a control apparatus for the hybrid vehicle. This control apparatus is configured to selectively establish one of a first drive state in which the vehicle drive force is generated by only the electric motor, and a second drive state in which the vehicle drive force is generated by both the electric motor and the engine. The output characteristics in the first and second drive states are changed such that the vehicle drive force generated for an operating amount of the accelerator pedal in the second drive state is larger than that generated for the operating amount in the first drive state, so that starting of the engine can be effectively restricted according to a requirement for driving the vehicle with the electric motor.